


Black and Blue

by SpicyRedPaladin



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Lance likes to sing, Langst, M/M, Mutual Pining, Shiro is a little dense
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-16
Updated: 2018-04-16
Packaged: 2019-04-23 19:48:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,963
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14339694
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpicyRedPaladin/pseuds/SpicyRedPaladin
Summary: Lance played a part. Wore a mask. Built a facade.  And Shiro was determined to see through it.





	Black and Blue

**Author's Note:**

> Beta'd by: Flymetothem00n12 on AO3 and ManifestMerlin on Tumblr
> 
> Here I go writing more Shance... In which Shiro tries very hard to get closer to Lance.

Everyone thought they knew everything that was worth knowing about Lance. And he was fine with that. No one needed to know anything other than Loverboy Lance, and he was more than fine with playing that role. Not that he actually had that much of a roll. He was more of a seventh wheel, honestly. A spare.

He thought of this as he stood by the window in the lounge, staring out into open space. A sigh escaped him as he contemplated the stars. They were beautiful. This was right where he’d always known he’d be one day. But somehow it all still felt wrong. He shouldn’t be here like this, in the middle of stars no other human had seen while doing something so important as saving the universe. He should be a cargo pilot, sticking to the safe trading routes in the Sol System and gazing humbly at familiar constellations.

The door to the lounge opened and he straightened up, turning around to see who’d come in. As he turned, though, he lost his balance and fell with a cry. A chorus of laughter punctuated his landing, and Lance groaned softly once he realized he’d landed straight in the trash bin. He looked up to see the other four paladins, all laughing. Shiro stopped himself rather quickly, though, and cleared his throat. “Ah... Lance, what are you doing in the trash can?”

The teen shrugged, trying to get himself out. “Ah, nothing. Figured I’d just go ahead and put all the trash up.” As he attempted to dislodge himself, he slipped and got stuck further into the receptacle. “God, I guess I really do belong in this thing.” Pidge, Keith, and Hunk only laughed harder as Shiro came over to pull Lance out of the bin. “Lance, c’mon. You shouldn’t talk about yourself like that.”

Well, that was new. Lance was so used to people encouraging his self-deprecating jokes, and here Shiro was trying to defend him from himself. It made Lance’s heart flutter, but he tried to push the feeling away. He would worry about what that feeling meant later. “Oh, uh... Thanks, Shiro. I.. uh..” Pidge broke in. “Yeah, yeah, guys, get a room. It’s movie time!” The other three plopped down, trying to figure out how they would get the movies Pidge had found on the Galactic Web to work.

Lance and Shiro joined them, but Lance was distracted. He wondered, now, how much Shiro actually noticed in regards to his behaviour. The man was an amazing leader and was usually good at reading people. The teen had hoped that Shiro’s mostly ignoring him up till now would help keep his facade going. Had Lance underestimated his leader’s abilities? Just how much did Shiro know? Surely he couldn’t see all of Lance’s motives. No, it was impossible. He worked too hard on his mask for someone to see through it so easily.

Everyone thought they knew Lance, but no one did. Not even his family. But now Lance was worried that he was falling for someone who was getting far too close for comfort.

\--

There were two things about Lance that Shiro was sure of. One was that Lance made fun of himself way too often for it to be normal. The other was that Shiro apparently knew absolutely nothing else about him.  He thought Lance’s smile was bright as the sun, but now he only saw a shallow mask over pain. He thought Lance’s flirtatious nature was narcissism but now was worried it was a desperate attempt at finding acceptance, even if it was in the eyes of a strange alien he would never see again. He thought that the way his need to beat Keith in every little thing was pride and overconfidence, but could it possibly be an attempt at giving himself some sort of worth?

Whatever the reason, it completely baffled Shiro. He couldn’t understand how Lance could feel so isolated with all of the other paladins around. Granted, he did get scolded often. And some of their words could probably make him feel a little... Set apart from the group. And his ideas were often set aside in favour of others. In hindsight, Shiro could do a lot better to ensure Lance’s certainty in the team. He would have to do better in the future.

Shiro thought of this as he strode through the halls late one night, unable to sleep. He wasn’t quite sure why he was thinking of Lance so often. Of course, he thought of him normally. Shiro thought of all the paladins, trying to find ways to better include them in the team. It wasn’t until just a couple days ago that he realized he’d been neglecting Lance in this regard.

As he heard the soft sound of singing, and then a familiar groan of frustration, Shiro stopped. Without realizing it, he had wandered to Lance’s door. Was his subconscious trying to tell him something? Putting aside his anxiety, Shiro rose his hand and knocked.

It was a few moments before he heard Lance coming to the door. He did his best to smile when the door opened. Lance looked just as surprised to find Shiro at his door than the man himself had been. After a tense moment of silence, Shiro cleared his throat.

“I, uh... Lance. Would you mind talking for a bit?” After another moment of silence, this time one of confusion, Lance grinned. But this time, Shiro could see something behind it that he couldn’t name. “Well, duh. When do I not mind talking? Come on in, bud!”

Shiro entered Lance’s room cautiously. He’d kept himself from looking around Lance at the room, and he was quite surprised. It was cleaner than he’d imagined based on Lance’s demeanour. Somehow, though, Shiro felt it was hilariously poetic. Clean to the eyes, but a mess inside. *How deeply does that resemble me,* Shiro couldn’t help but think.

Lance picked up his guitar off the bed. He’d managed to describe it to Coran so perfectly that even Shiro was surprised by the ship replicator’s accuracy. Lance closed the notebook he’d apparently been writing a song in. Lance smiled at him. “Go ahead and have a seat on the bed. It’s comfier than this weird rolly-hover-chair-thing.” With that, Lance plopped down on the chair he’d mentioned. “So, what’s up?”

Shiro took the offered spot on the bed, smiling a bit. “Well, I just realized that you and I don’t really talk that often during downtime. I wanted to get to know you better.” He realized that sounded a little forced, and Lance must have thought so too, with the way his mouth screwed and tilted. “Hm… Well, I guess you want me to start at the beginning?” Shiro smiled and nodded quietly, letting Lance be the one to speak now.

“Well, I grew up in Cuba. Oh god, was it beautiful. I never really fit in that much though. As much as I loved the waves, I just couldn’t keep my eyes off the stars. The vast, endless black. It went so much farther than the ocean ever could.” Lance sighed happily, his smile softening. “The first time I looked up at the stars, I felt so small. Smaller than I’d ever felt before. And as I learned about the expanse of space, I just knew I had to go out there one day. It was the only thing I could talk about. When my moma started letting me go out at night to surf, I would just lay on the beach and stare at the stars while the water lapped at the rocks…”

He looked up at Shiro, chuckling a bit. “That’s weird, isn’t it? But you know, I couldn’t help but think it was just... Meant to be. Like, everything in my life was pointing me to the stars. That’s why I enrolled at the Garrison. I just had to get to the stars, no matter what… And then you came crashing down into the desert and everything just happened so fast. And then I was in the stars. And I know that the only reason I was able to get there is that I met you, Shiro. If you had never gone to Kerberos, had never been captured, had... Had never been hurt, none of us would be here.”

The two of them were silent. Lance spoke again after a minute or so. “I would trade the stars if it meant you wouldn’t have had to go through that…” Shiro shook his head. “Lance, that’s very kind. But, if I had never gone to Kerberos and if I had never been captured, then I wouldn’t be the leader that I am. I wouldn’t be in charge of this team. This team wouldn’t even exist. So don’t you ever say you would trade the stars. Because trading the stars away trades away all the progress we’ve made and the freedom we’ve given.”

Lance grinned, his shoulder shaking a bit. Shiro was afraid he was going to start crying until Lance suddenly let out a loud laugh. “Jeez, Shiro. I didn’t realize we had a poet for a leader! But thanks, that really put things in perspective.” The teen leaned back. “So… Did you really just come here to listen to me gab about my life?” At Shiro’s nod, Lance blushed and looked away. “I.. Thanks. That means a lot, Shiro... But next time you show up at midnight, I’m making you talk, got it?”

Shiro laughed as he stood. “Yeah. Next time, I’ll talk.” With that, they bid each other good night. As Shiro walked down the hall, he felt his cheeks flush. He hadn’t expected to feel so giddy about seeing Lance alone again. But it left him with two undeniable pieces of knowledge regarding his Blue Paladin. One was that he now knew more about Lance. And the other was that Shiro was probably in love with him.

\--

Lance was confused, to say the least. Never in a thousand years did he think Shiro would show up in his room at midnight, especially while he was writing his special song. He sighed and picked his guitar back up, strumming a few chords and closing his eyes. It was almost surreal. Shiro had been right there on his bed, listening to Lance talk about how much he loved the stars. It definitely wasn’t what Lance had meant to talk about the whole time. And that he almost messed everything up. He had come so close to telling Shiro about his feelings, and that was not okay.

Lance couldn’t say he wasn’t inspired, though. Knowing he wasn’t merely second-class to the others in Shiro’s eyes was enough to give him butterflies. He sighed and closed his eyes, working on his song again. He’d been writing it ever since Coran got the replicators to make a guitar. The song was for Shiro, but he knew he’d never sing it to the man. Besides, it was just his way of dealing with his pining.

Lance didn’t sleep a lot that night, not that he usually did. The next day, thankfully, didn’t involve anything life-threatening. Unless you could count Coran trying to learn how to cook. Lance didn’t count it, knowing Hunk would deal with it. When they weren’t training or eating dinner, Lance sat in his room writing his song. He had just finished when there was a metallic knock on his door. Only Shiro could make a sound like that, unless it was someone was knocking with a wrench.

A smile lit Lance up when he opened the door to reveal that he was right. Shiro smiled at him from the other side of the door. He took the same spot that he’d sat in the previous night, crossing his ankles. Lance sat too, looking up at him expectantly. “So, what story will the amazing Shiro tell me today?”

“Well, I don’t know about me being ‘amazing’... But I’m going to tell you about why I went to Kerberos.” Lance nodded, falling silent. “I was like you when I was little, Lance. I saw the stars and I knew that I belonged there. I grew up in Japan, a long way from the beautiful beaches you played on. In Japan, there’s so much city but there’s also so, so much nature. Beautiful, sacred mountains left completely untouched save for bike trails and hiking paths. I went up one with some friends one night. I brought my telescope and I looked out at the skies. That night I saw an asteroid floating around, but my young mind just told me that it looked exactly like a moon. And so I looked in my astronomy book and I found the moon that looked most like that asteroid. Kerberos, the fourth moon of Pluto.”

A pause. Lance held his breath, completely enraptured. Shiro continued. “I figured it out eventually, but I had already decided. I would go to the moons of Pluto. So I worked harder than I ever had. Went to the Garrison and graduated with honours. Worked so hard to become a captain. It was hard, but I made it happened. When the mission to Kerberos was announced, I was the first one to apply.” He sighed and ran his human hand through his close-cropped hair. “That’s why I went to Kerberos… A little selfish, huh?”

“No way!” Lance hopped to his feet. “Shiro that’s amazing! You fought for something you set yourself to! You said what happened at Kerberos is what gave you strength as a leader, but I say you were strong already!” He sat beside Shiro on the bed, touching his leader’s shoulder. “I’m really glad you told me, Shiro. I’m really happy to hear about your childhood..” He’s quiet for a minute or two. “When I first heard about the Kerberos mission, I didn’t know who you were. So I looked you up. You’re... You’ve always been my hero, Shiro.”

The two laughed at the rhyme, the mood becoming lighter. Shiro gave his teammate a small hug. “Thanks, Lance… Let’s keep hanging out like this, okay? It’s really nice.” Lance nodded vigorously. “Definitely! I gotta tell you about my little siblings!” Shiro laughed again. “I’m gonna go work on some strategies. Wana help?” The Blue Paladin grinned and went with Shiro, happier than words could describe.

If Lance had any doubts before, he could kill them now. He was so in love with Shiro that no other word could describe it.

\--

Shiro groaned to himself. He was already halfway back to his room and he just realized he’d left behind a holo-tablet he’d been using to track his strategies in the lounge. He turned around and walked back, kicking himself for being so negligent. He couldn’t really help it, though. Lance had been there. He felt so relaxed around Lance nowadays, laughing freely and grinning widely in the young man’s company.

As he got to the door, Hunk, Pidge, and Keith were leaving. He nodded and walked through the door before it shut, looking around quietly for his tablet. He couldn’t quite remember where he’d set it. As he stood there, he heard soft humming. It must have been Lance. Shiro smiled to himself, listening as the humming turned into soft, sung words. His eyes widened as he listened, not knowing what to do. The words hung around him, speaking volumes.

_Though my body seems so young and new_   
_In my heart I feel like I’m a hundred and two_   
_And if I go one more day without you_ _  
Then I’ll never know if you love me too_

_I miss you like the tide to the moon_   
_And the moon misses the sun too_   
_We can turn this into me and you  
If you’d just say that you love me too_

_But I know I know that it’s me not you_   
_And you’ll never hear these words but, oo_   
_Maybe one day it can be me and you  
But I know we’ll always just be Black and Blue_

Shiro knew that Lance couldn’t know he was there, as Lance was laying on one of the seats. He must have heard by accident. What should he do? He couldn’t just tell Lace he’d heard him confess by accident and that his voice sounded like melted chocolate and make Shiro feel warm and fuzzy. So he did the only thing he could think of. He sang back.

_Well if you told me then I’d tell you_   
_And I’d love you like you love me too_   
_Because Lance, I really truly do_ _  
And you and I can be more than Black and Blue_

When he was done, he watched the back of Lance’s head. The teen had sat up the moment Shiro started, but he hadn’t turned around. Had he made a mistake? Had he misunderstood the song’s meaning? But Lance literally said everything in it. Was he having second thoughts? Finally, Lance turned and looked at him, face bright red. “Shiro, you weren’t supposed to hear that...”

Shiro let out a breathy laugh, walking over and kneeling down just above Lance. “I thought as much... But… I’m so happy that I did.” The two were silent as Shiro reached out and touched Lance’s cheek before leaning in. The kiss was timid, a test more than a real kiss. When they pulled away, Shiro dropped into the seat beside Lance and held the Blue Paladin close, closing his eyes. Lance cried softly on his shoulder, but Shiro knew that they were tears of happiness now.

No, Shiro didn’t know everything about Lance. And Lance didn’t know everything about Shiro. But at least they could make time to learn.


End file.
